Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Mayor That Understands Monetary Economics

There is a certain mayor in South Carolina who just happens to know a lot about monetary economics. In fact, he has critically weighed in on some of my posts and helped sharpen my thinking on monetary economics. Unlike many macroeconomists, he takes money seriously and understands the importance of monetary disequilibrium. This is not terribly surprising as he is the former student of Leland Yeager. This mayor is Bill Woolsey.

He has his own blog and provides thoughtful posts on monetary issues. For example, he recently considered the claim by Brad DeLong that it is liquidity demand shocks rather than money demand shocks that cause recessions. I bring this up because how many politicians do you know that have such mastery over such an important issue as monetary policy? And based on these twonews stories he is an effective mayor too. Maybe one day Mayor Woolsey will consider running for Congress. It would be great to have such a monetary-minded congressman.

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, Woolsey's post are long and give the reader a lot to chew on. I have learned much from him on monetary disequilibrium. Nick Rowe and Scott Sumner have also been influential on my thinking.

There are some posts on my blog that I would not have written had I fully grasped what these guys were saying all along. If nothing else, this blog has been a way for me to sort out my thinking.

I'd like to see you do a post on how, exactly, Woolsey has changed your thinking; ditto for Sumner and Rowe. What have been their distinctive contributions at the margins (I assume you have all long agreed on a certain core of monetary theory)?

Some Other Writings

About Me

I am an assistant professor of economics at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. I am using this blog as an outlet to express my ideas, concerns, and questions on macroeconomics and markets.